Flatwork ironer



Nov. 23, 1943.v H.. c. A. MEYER Erm.

FLAT WORK IRONER 1941 l4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 13

INVENTOR C A. Aline?. Pf (LAE/r Nov. 23, 1943. H. c. A. MEYER ET AL FLAT WORK- IRONERv Filed Jan. 13. 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q Q Q Q QaQ INVENTOR ,9i/Vey C. A /l/Eysf Eace ,e CLAE/r 6 l l vf www? ATTORNEYS Nov. 23, 1943.

H. c. A. MEYER., E-r Al. 2,334,832

FLAT WORK IRONER Filed Jan. 13, 1941 4 Sheets- Sheet l35 ATTORNE Nov. y23, 1943. H. c. A. MEYER ETAL FLAT WORK IRONER Filed Jan. 1:5, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ,eff/Vey 6,4. /J/t-yffl Eame f?. (aber.

BY ,Mv/@ZJ v ATTORNEY Y Patented' Nov. 235',` 1943 chneryCorpoi-ation, New York, Ni'Yg, a corpo- "ration VofQD'elaware .Y

Application Ja'ny 13 194i, saisis. err-isa i @claims (Cl. 385-111) c Y This inventionrelates 'generallytoimprovementsA in laundry machines and 'particularlytov improvements-in flat workironing machines; l The' ironingof .fabrics `has heretofore been generally donelbyhavingrtwo cooperating ironing surf faces-one or both ofvvhich areheatedL-engage the material on opposite sides and applying tlirectl mechanical ironingipressure to' the' material.

ironing machine designed for operation infthis;

manner is disclosed in U. sPate'nt 1,999,532,

wherein there is provided' a steam lfieated"chest` having a surface along which goods to beironed' may be continuously fed andron'e'd` by'nieans of` an `endless padded belt passing in rclose proximity to `said surfaceythe required ironing pressurebeing attained by means for mechanicallyy adjustLv ing said belt withreference to the ironing surface' ofthe chest. Such a machine suifersfro'rn eer# tain inherent disadvantages such as eventualhardening ofthe padding of the belts andthe difcultyv off and the attention necessary-int-ad-W justing the elements to` attain proper ironin pressure. l i :V if;

l Gne of thelobjects of `theprsent invention is l to' provide a simple andefcerit iiat tvorkfironer of this general type Withv which padding is `not needed, northe employment of'mechanical means-f for `securing easily adjusted andJ-uniformly'gdis v tributed ironing pressure. V'l'hese'objectsrare ac: complished by substitutingfo theusual padded belt, `a beltcomposed `of avery dense yet pliat'ilev and resilient heat resisting materia1, practically impervious to the passage of air,and employing' therewith a"l specially constructed' `steam chest adapted to cooperate with suction rn'eans'toestab'-v lish uniiormly distributed'vacfuum ensue-atm pheric pressure at theV face 'of the steam,chest,V in such manner as to draw` the ironing' belt into uniformi `pressure .engagement with the goodsl they are carriedalong thelironing vsurface of the chest, l t, .L Another ,object of theirivention'is' to provide eicient means frattaining uniform distribution Yof sub-atmospheric pressurewithoutl danger of and which Will notinterfere vvthrthe even feed .of

the goods along the surface of the chest. f

Sub-atmospheric pressure is accomplishedby suction, which has'V the further advantage, .of

hastening-the removal of moisture from theA tex-v ture of the-materialV during ironing; thus facili-` tatingv the ironing and drying operation. Wegare aware that suction has heretofore beenemployed for extracting moisture from fabrics; and also vWork ironer have proved impractical and cientfand, because of` variations in thickness and densityV of materialstorbe iron'ed` and forA other reasons, `have been incapablet of attaining that l importantunif-orrnf ironing pressure necessaryvfqr doingsatisfactorywork.; VOneefthe ,reasons such` attempts to iron vby suction' withoutj the' use-,0f ana ironingY belt Vhave proved. toV be impracticaliwill be better understood Alifone considers whatgis n Intl-fe.laundry` fart the t process of. ironing consistsin'the applicationof. heat.A and pressure to` asuiieiently moistene'dv meant :by ironing fabric in fsucha Way as .-tolay the pileof the fab- "ric uniformly inoone direction and thus obtain a i uniform riish; Th'usit is necessary notv only to'` apply boththeatiandkpressure but to do this so fpointed'o'ut hereinafter.'

'rhs invention accordingly consists in the fea;- tures of cOnstruotie'n",` combinations" of elements` andar'rangement ofpa ts as Willb'e4 exemplifi''df'in the'strueture to beiiereinafter described, arid the scope lofthe application of which Will b'e indi`` cated in the following claims;

that suction exerted directly upon the goods,1withg out the use oi an impervious ironing belt, has lbeenV suggested as a means forv creatingironing Vpres#` sure. -`It should be pointed out, however, thatv al1 attempts to embody such suggestion in a iiatf niche accompanyingdrawiiigs; iii which isf shownorne of various possible ernbodinntsof-the mechanicalfeat'uresfof thisgnvention` f ,h finie; il is aperspectiv view ordnet were ironer embodying the present invention;

' Fig; 2'is a top pian izieiiv` 'or the steamgciis't.

in fits preferred `form; Y

sie. 3 `is' d. side elevation diurne steirischen;

. Fig. 4 is a bttor'n plan viewer theslameiA Fig, sis' transverse section on line 5:-15 ,ff

lar parts throughout the `various views of` the?- drawings'- Referring Work ironer` will be seen to comprise essentially asteanihchest l, an end lessjirrnirflg beltA 2, Van idlerpulley 3, afdrivepulleykand a tensioning` pulley The steamfchest l Vis suitably supported byrmeansiof integrally formed feet T resting upon to Vthe drawings, applicantsflat.

VVthe a complete supportingfstructure for all the elements ofthe ironer;Y The steam chest may be Y made of cast viron,-cast aluminum, k*or any suitable steel', and provided with a perfectly smooth andk highly polished topV or ironing surface lll. This steam chest maybe of any suitable .width Yand length to meet the .demands forwspeedjin* ironing andto withstand ironing pressure. 'ff'he1 steam Achest is designed to be heated by live steam for the'purpos'e of heating theY ironing meeting atlsubstantially theV longitudinal center of the 'chestto be discharged throughk anope'nl-v ing. M, also provided Ain the bottom Ywall.,@AnyY water of condensation collecting f within ythe e' steam chest will be discharged through the :latter opening le, Vandit :will be noticed, by reference to 1"ig.- 3, that the bottom wallfof the steam chest declinesfrom Athe two ends. of the steamV chest tothe longitudinal, center -thereof in order to iacilitate'this dischargel of condensate. y

Spaced between eachfadjacent pair of transverselyextending Vstearnpassages are provided,

.Lio

` ediy thesurface'of'the, steam chest. Compositions of this nature heretofore used to a limited extent Yf as padding for ironer' rolls, when made Suni-V for the surface, and to this end is provided withsuitable j 'Y Vsteam passages which, when supplied with ,livesteamwill insure such heating ofthe ironing A Surface'f; .K' 'Y I' L c.

. -"Ref erring1to Figs. 8, Ll, 5f'and`'gsteanifinlet' openings l2 and' ISffare shown entering thesteam chest through'V itsi bottom wall at opposite ends thereof.-` ,Steamenteringtheghollow chest from .l these openings passes, as indicated bythe arrowsv 'Ain'Fig; 7," back and-'forth throughrinterior connected: passages .l5 extending substantially the.; entire -width of the chesttoimpart heat evenly. .to S` the ironing surface; the two steam V,streams 2,334,832. 1 ,l y; j

Ystructural'.menibe'rs Q of a frame, Vin' large `part facecof the steam chest, andV ythe other setlof e VVomittedfromthe drawings, butdesigned to form v groovesgl@satl an angleY of.6l `withsaidaxis ofA iv A Y the chest.'.Thegreason'Y for fthis 'special disposi- ..f

ytion of grooves will be referred to and -explained* A r`hereinafter. Y

Referring to air; ai

ndfthepulleys and press evenly upon` Vcien'tly dense and impervious, are suitable 'purposesx'iofthe present invention.

.Theiron'ingbelt 2 passesover the-idler pulley `3 'and driveV pulley- 4 and is driven inthedirection;y Y' of thearrow pby means. ofsuitable .chain andA `sprocket drive mechanism, indicated generally by. 1 the referencenumber 22. The Vspindle' 23 of the. Y,

drive pulley 4 i'srrigidly'v supported against up andi Q down movement and is heldin a position just to' permit the lowest surface of the `belt 2,to pass -f tothe drive pulley from the plane ofthe upperv surface'of the chest along-,a path inalignment with said planeV or .bent slightly. downwardlyV therefrom. The pulleyl 3 is also'spaced Withgrespect to the ironing surface of Vther chestisonthat.

Vthe underside,oftheironing belt isiin slight con-1, Y tact with the surface.V Thus theironingportionf of belt; just rests upon tliechest. Spindle 521i. of pulley. Slis vprovided at each'tend with'jguidel gblocksz slidable up and down in guides 26to withinthe casting of the steamphest, vacuum Y passages l. These likewise runcrosswise from side to side the full width of thechest andY are distributed in alternation with the steam'passages le., practically the lfull length of the steam chest. Thesevacuumpassages are all connected centrally with respectto the longitudinal center Vline of the steainchesttoa main vacuumlcharnv ber klv 4extending'substantially uthe* full y length ofv` steam chest andgopening downwardly through thelbottomf'of thechest.,` This provides- `'al means by -whicha pipe or conduitv Sii, leading. Y to a suitablesuction device, such as van air pump` 3i, adapted to `maintainY a. suitable degree ofvvacr uuni for vsub-atmospheric pressure within the passages, may be' 'connected'. to,"

various vacuum the chest.A

.By reference to Fig. 2, it will be ys'eerrfthat the upper' wall ofv the .steam chest is' provided throughoutits' ironing surfacev with' a' systeml or network ofcrisscross grooves I8 and l (shown diagrammaticallyinFig. 2 and in detail in Figs. 8* .and 9) which'ncutlinto,thelirning surface. These groovesl cover the whole surface save for vthe short space at the front of the ironer and a lesser distance at the rear thereof. Small perforations Y2) drilled through the top wall ofthe chest con` neet this network of grooves to the vacuum passages 'l so that, when'.sub-"atmospheric` pressure is established in the mainvacuurn chamber il' and' passagesV I6, any atmosphericv air which passes the belt 2 will be sucked through the holes intothe chest. i 1

"While the purposes of 'thefpresent inventionmay be attained with'various arrangements'of the'fcrisscross groovingyw'e preferably cut one set of grooves, such vas grooves I3, at an angle of 595 with the transverse-axisY of the-'ironing sur-l i permitk vertical motion of thevspindle 24 -andidler pulleys, but restraining movement of thepulley in a horizontal direction.,r

Any suitable means may be provided for-feed- L in ggoods to be ironed tothe ironing surface; of

the steam chest. In Figi Vthere is shownaconventionalA typeeof work feeding mechanism com;

prising apair of rollers 27, 23 mounted parallel tothe feed edge atfthe front` ofthe stearnuchest and parallel-tothe axes ofthe Apulleysf-and 4, f

and g,at such `elevation thatthe-teliV element of roller `28Vffis approximately in the plane of the steamchst surface. A plurality ofi-continuous. ribbons 29, known as feedribbons,v passes Aover Y both rollers. v.fis-either of therrollers is V'rotated-V bysuitabl'e gearing, Ynot showin, butv operatinglin t j e synchr'onisni with the speed of` fthe, ironing beltf pieces of 'work spread `Vupon these.,ribbonsl are f transportedv onto. the stearnlchest directlyunde'f.

, the beltv as it passes around pulley'.

rearend ofvthewsteam chest, and machine.

If, under lthese conditions, we'considerQthat"ia,v partial vacuum `(sub-aianospheric.pressurev) .is`

established within f the vacuum chambers; of the stea'mchest; it will', be un'derstoodthat 'the same pressure condition will obtain" also at' thejunclerside ofthe belt and top of the ironing surface of the st eamchestdue to the manyjperforationsf through the upper wall of VthesteamY chest and beca'usk-i` of the crisscr'ossnetwork of grooves, will be uniformly distributed overthe entire surface of the-chest. Since the ironing belt is of such character as to resist to a great extent the flow ofV air therethrough, .uniform pressure will neces- Fig. 1, itwill be seen that the ibeltl2.- 'is supported directly above thestearn" chest. e, This ironingV beltY may'consist' of an asb estosV composition;substantially impervious to pliablemvand resilient enough to passV v 'lnpperaL-a tion, ,thebelt? takes hold ,of jthelworkjjdrawsit;:' along over the heated'chest whereV 'itis ironed" 1` in its passage, and discharges or frees itat thel advantage of in the present invention to accomplish ironing of the goods and may be varied or a steam chest having an ironing surface, a subadjusted, as desired by the operator or as the v nature of the goods may demand, by merely i opening to a greater extent or closing to a greater degree any suitable valve 32 disposed in the suction line between the steam chest and the above mentioned suction pump. Y

Since clothes` to be ironed usually contain ai certain amount of moisture, this moisture must be removed during ironing and this requires the application of heat. Such heat is sufficiently sup plied by the live steam which circulates through the steam chest, but, as, in the present instance,

' moisture is removed under conditionsV of subatmospheric pressure, the operation is greatly facilitated. Y Y

While it is entirely'practical with of goods to arrange the grooving symmetricallythat is, so that both series of grooves lie at the same angle but slope in opposite directionsiwith respect to the front edge of the steam chest-it has been'found that by arranging thev two series of grooves at different angles, `highlighting or local glossing of the surface of the goods is premanyclasses Cil stantially'airA impervious driven friction belt for Ymoving goods to be ironed alongsaid ironing surface,r means providing a vacuum chamber within said chest, said chest having a Yplurality of perforations arranged according to Va predetermined pattern throughout a major portion of the contact area of said ironing surface and extending from said chamber through said ironing surface, suction means ycommunicating with said vacuum chamber, and means comprising two groups of parallel grooves formed in said ironing surface and obliquely disposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of said ironing surface, the grooves of one group intersecting the grooves of the other `group' and each groove intersecting at `least one of said plurality of perforations, whereby the effect `of said suction meansis distributed uniformlythroughout said portion of said contact area to draw said beltjdown upon the moving. f goods with substantially uniform pressure at` all points of contact.

vented. This vis because the fabricbeing ironed v during its passage along the surface-of the steam chest avoids being presented along any one line of travel to a constantly uniform'pattern which would repeat the action upon the goods of the points of thelands between grooves. .Under such conditions of grooving, a cloth traveling over the chest surface in a line perpendicular to the front d of the chest willvengage continually an .ever

the goods and the rear edges of the Vgroovesgwith the result that more than a normal amount of lint was removed from the goods `during ironing.-

2. A stationary ironing member for a fiat work ironer comprising, an Yironing plate having an ironing surface, a suction chamber behind said 4 surface, Va network of grooves formed in said sur- 'f face comprising one plurality of equally spaced r Y parallel grooves all angularly disposed with respect to the transverse axis of said surface and another plurality of `equally .spaced parallel groovesk all angularly disposed with respect to said transverse axis and 4'intersecting `said one plurality of grooves, and means connecting said suction chamber with the surface of said plate comprising a plurality of perforations arranged in a plurality of lines extending transverselywith respect to said ironing surface, the perforations formingfeach line being equal in number and spacing with the transversely aligned points of intersection of said intersecting grooves and the This undesirable result is eliminated by forming the grooves as described, and it 'has been found that not only is the undue formation of lint pre-V 'vented but alsothat fabrics passing over such the scope of the present invention to cover such a construction. A

As many embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as many `changes might be made in the embodiment above described, it is to be understood that all structure hereinbefore described as shown in the accompanying drawings is to be considered as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

perforations of each line being in intersecting relationshipwith the grooves of at least one of .said pluralities of grooves, i Y i 3. A stationary ironing member for a flat work ironer comprising, an ironing plate having a perforated ironing surface, aY suction chamber behind `said perforated surface, and a network of two sets ofgrooves in said ironing surface communicating with said perforations for distributing the suction effect at said perforations uniformly over the entire ironing surface, said network comprising one plurality of grooves all disposed at one certain angle with respect to the transverse axisof said surface, and another plurality of grooves intersecting said one plurality of grooves and al1 disposed at a different angle with respect to said transverse axis, whereby the points of intersection of successive grooves of the two sets of grooves lie in lines obliquely disposed with respect to said transverse axis.

v 4. A flat work ironer as in claim l-in which certain of said perforations. lying in transversely extending lines with respect to said axis intersect said grooves at transversely aligned intersections of saidV grooves and others of said perforations are transversely aligned in parallel with said transversely aligned groove intersections and intersect the grooves of one only of said two groups.

HENRY o. A; MEYER. EDGAR E. CLARK. 

